And Everything Started to Fall
by TLOSpyrogirl
Summary: "Escape... it is simply not possible. Nobody has ever escaped Barrin's Keep; nobody ever will escape Barrin's Keep." Or so he thought. Based on The Legend of Crystal series.
1. Fifteen

**A/N:**

**Yes, I do realize I'm going overboard with the whole AU in an AU thing. There's no other fandom or character that I could write this for, so here it is. A few notes before you read: This does not actually happen to Crystal, Jayred sounds like Farkas from Skyrim (Companions questline), and dragons in my fanon mature at the age of twenty.**

**I suggest you read this story's inspiration. Pretty good, it is.**

**The cover was drawn by me, but an image by GoldenGriffiness was a heavy inspiration and reference. Please do not use the cover without my consent or knowledge.**

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><p>Inspired by Kuroy's Inner Sanctum<p>

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><p><em>Dedicated to all of those who have been convicted<em>

_For a crime they did not commit_

_And to all of those who suffered at the expense of others_

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><p>Spending three years wallowing in nothing but darkness really starts to get ya, you know? Of course you don't. You've never spent three years in some ancestors-forsaken room, have you?<p>

Oh, there was the peephole. That mesmerizing, beautiful block of light that hit the floor when it was opened and my food and water was shoved through it.

And there was that rare occasion when the door was opened wide and light spilled into the room, when the guards came to 'inspect' the area to be sure I wasn't trying to get out or was hiding anything. But that only happened about once a month.

And there _was_ the semi-annual occasion when all of us were blindfolded and taken outside onto that great, beautiful meadow. But we were only granted an hour of free time before we were hauled back into our cells again.

It also was silent here; for the most part, the only sound was my breathing. Sometimes I heard the guards talking or jeering at us, at me. Sometimes I heard the other one in the room beside me muttering to himself. But most of the time there was nothing but silence and darkness to seek solace in.

I was bored, but of course, I had become used to being bored by now. My thoughts wandered to my arrival to the prison three years ago.

They led me to this place blindfolded, all the way from Warfang to Barrin's Keep. When we got to the doors, the guard, a midnight black panther, pulled the cloth off my head and faced me towards the horizon.

"See that?" he asked. "That's the last time you'll ever see the world." Then he laughed, put the blindfold back on, and shoved me through the doors.

Our claws clicked on the smooth stone floor. The metal of the collar that was around my neck, attached to a chain that the guard held, was very uncomfortable. And this place was _hot._

After what seemed like hours of walking, I was finally forced to a stop. The blindfold was taken off again.

I looked around the room. It was made of stone, like I assumed the rest of the rooms were, and was bare in terms of furnishing. Spread about the room were two people, one dragon and a cheetah. Standing on the other end of the room was a tall, bulky dragon. His element appeared to be fire, as his scales were bright red accented by orange. His ash-grey eyes were always narrowed into slits, which gave him a mean appearance.

"Get in line," the guard said to me. I followed his order and got into the line of prisoners. To my left was a female with the element of electricity.

"Now that we are all here," the fire dragon said, "I can explain to you just what you will be facing."

I kept my gaze locked on the wall in front of me.

"This prison is known as Barrin's Keep, and this is where you will be serving your respective sentences. I am Khadi. _You_ are a murderer, a thief, or just in general criminal scum." Khadi stepped forward until he was in front of the cheetah. He walked along the line, observing us, until he came to me and stopped.

He turned, raised his eyeridges, and turned to the guard. "Why is there a child here? Is this some sort of joke? I do not like jokes, Kai."

The guard, apparently called Kai, shook his head. "She committed a crime, just like the rest of this lot."

"This is the purple dragon who saved the world not but a few months ago. You simply must be joking."

Kai shook his head and clucked his tongue decisively. "I am not."

Khadi came down to eye level with me. "Have you become like Malefor, young one?"

I didn't answer, only glared into his grey eyes. It took me off guard when the warden slapped me.

"I asked you a question!" he snarled.

I looked up, gazed him dead in the eyes, and said, "Yes, sir, perhaps I have."

Khadi chucked, raised himself back up to his normal height, and began to pace back and forth between us three prisoners.

"Then allow me to continue. We have rules here, and you expected to follow them to the letter. First of all, if you are a dragon who can breathe an element or have the ability to cast spells, you are not allowed to use your magic. _Ever._ Second, if you are caught planning or starting riots, I will personally flay you alive and throw you into the lava pools. Finally, there's one last thing you should know." Khadi paused. "Escape... it is simply not possible. Nobody has ever escaped Barrin's Keep; nobody ever will escape Barrin's Keep. If you are caught trying to escape, you will be killed where you stand with no if, ands, or buts about it. Do I make myself clear?"

When Khadi received no answer, he said it more forcefully. "I said, do I make myself clear? !"

"Yes, warden," we said.

"Good. Kai, take them to their cells."

I was drawn out of my moorings over the past as the door slot slid open. "You have a visitor," the guard on the other side said. The peephole closed with a slight bang, and a moment later, the door swung open.

My breathing heavy and labored, I looked up. The look hardened into a glare as I saw who it was.

Spyro.

The door closed, leaving us in total darkness. I heard Spyro step closer to me.

"I will never forgive you," I growled. Even after three years, my anger had not evaporated.

"Crystal, I'm—"

"Sorry?" I laughed dryly. "What you did to me, what you said to me, it broke my heart. You think you can just apologize and everything will be alright? If you were sorry, I wouldn't be in this hole. If you were _sorry,"_ I spat, "you wouldn't have said what you did."

"You've brought this on yourself," Spyro said quietly after a few seconds had passed.

With a snarl of rage, I hopped to my feet. "Go, Spyro. Go away, and don't come back. Leave me to rot for the rest of my life in here." I laid back down again.

Spyro didn't move. Even in the pitch-black darkness, I could feel him gazing at me with remorse.

"Go!" I yelled. So, he did. Spyro backed away, opened the door, and left.

I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I tried to comfort myself with the cold hatred that had fueled me for so long, but now I felt bad for what I had said to Spyro. After a long battle with my tormented thoughts, I huffed angrily and closed my eyes.

"You're a horrible person," I said to myself. "Everybody was right. You've become like Malefor." I drifted off into a sea of dreams. I didn't have nightmares anymore. I was already living in one.


	2. Eighteen

"Get up, you worthless waste of stinking flesh! If you aren't out here in five seconds, I'm going to leave you to rot for another six months!"

I had to resist from groaning aloud from hearing that familiar voice.

"Five..."

Reluctantly, I stood up.

"Four..."

I dashed over to the open door. I didn't want to be left inside. I only got to leave that wretched cell twice a year!

I glared at the guard as I passed. Garrison... that was his name. This prison, it was like a pool of water, silent and unmoving. Garrison was the stone thrown into the pool, the one that disrupted the calm and sent it into a spiraling chaos.

We despised each other. I don't know what is was, but the moment Garrison learned of my presence is Barrin's Keep, he clung onto me like a parasite. He wouldn't leave me alone.

Now, if Garrison ever laid a paw on me and the warden found out about it, he would be out of the prison quick as a snap, and he knew it. That's why he tortured me in more... subtle ways. Some days my food just wasn't delivered to me, others he taunted me mercilessly.

But the worst part was that if I attacked him, verbally or otherwise, the repercussions would far outweigh the benefits. Garrison had all of the power. I was nothing.

I sighed as we went through the usual procedures. The metal collar that was used when we were led to and from anywhere was snapped on my neck and the blindfold was tied around my eyes so that I would not be able to see the prison. This was a preventative measure to stop the prisoners from seeing the prison and being able to plan an escape route.

I can remember that feeling I get when I just know we're getting close. It's like a rush of exhilaration, an instinctual feeling that you're almost there, and something just wells up inside you. When the blindfold is pulled off and I'm standing in front of those great double-doors and waiting, waiting with the crowd of other prisoners and even guards who are just as excited as I am, I feel like I'm going to explode before the doors open.

And then they do.

I shielded my eyes that were unused to the bright light cast from the sun. The prisoners and I were like young hatchlings, afraid to take those first steps into the world.

"Hurry up and get out there!" Garrison yelled. That was all it took to break the uncertainty shrouding us. We stepped forward and dispersed once we were in the courtyard. The doors slammed shut behind us and we were free.

I breathed in the air, savoring the freshness of it compared to the musty air inside the prison. The air was thick with volcanic ash, but it was like a dream to me.

The courtyard was very large, large enough to allow the hundreds of people to spread out. A tall stone wall framed the area. Guards were everywhere; some were on ground level, while others, bipedal creatures with bows, patrolled the wall and dared any dragons to take to the air.

I trudged through the dirt and over to the wall, stopping to scan over the other prisoners. A few were arranging a race. Racing was somewhat of a tradition in the prison. All you had to do was run three laps around the courtyard. First person back won. Better than walking in circles, anyway.

"Hey," a male said. Not thinking the person was speaking to me, I ignored the voice.

"_Hey," _the voice said with more force. "You, girl!"

I blinked and looked around. My gaze fell upon a dragon, perhaps of the wind or healing element. He was older than I was, towered over me, and very muscular. He was a dirty grey with darker grey highlights and his eyes were a bright blue color that reminded me of my sister's eyes. He was, of course, wearing a metal collar.

"Yeah, you, girlie," the dragon said.

"What do you..." I cleared my throat. I hadn't talked in about a week; my voice was hoarse. "What do you want?"

"I wanna talk. Is that a crime now?" the dragon asked. I snorted at the irony of that statement.

"I'm not one for talking," I said coldly.

"No lollygagging," one of the guards that was standing nearby said to me. I stood up and walked away. To my annoyance, the dragon followed me.

After a few minutes of this, I spun around. "Will you go away?" I demanded angrily.

"No. Not until you tell me what your name is," the dragon said calmly.

"Does it matter?" I asked incredulously.

"You should hold on to who you are. This place takes everything and don't give you nothin' back—the only thing you've got is yourself. And if you don't fight to keep that, this ancestors-forsaken place will take it away. So I'll ask you again, what's your name?"

I plopped down on the ground. "Crystal. You?"

"I don't know. That's what I was rambling on about a few seconds ago. This place took my very self away from me."

I paused for a second. "I think I'll call you Jayred. The name belonged to a... let's just call him an old friend of mine."

Jayred raised his eyeridges, but said, "Alright, then. Jayred it is."

"How long have you been here, anyway?" I asked.

"Fifteen years. How about you?"

"Six. I'm eighteen now."

"Funny. That's how old I was when I arrived. But you mean to tell me they threw a twelve-year-old in this place? I've heard of bad, but you must have done something horrible." Jayred grinned. "Since you're not dead yet, I'm guessing you're in here for life?"

"Yup. Forever is a long time, you know." I sighed and shifted.

Jayred chuckled ruefully. "Tell me about yourself, kid. Got any family outside these walls?"

"Yeah, actually. Two brothers, a sister, and my parents."

"What's your sibling's names?"

"Maggie's my sister. I'm sure you've heard of Spyro. And then there's Sparx."

"Sparx? That's a strange name for a dragon."

I laughed despite myself. "That's because he's not a dragon. He's a dragon_fly."_

Jayred's eyeridges shot up again.

"Oh, quit it. It's a long story and we've only got less than an hour."

"That depends. What's your cell number?"

"Thirty-seven, first floor." I recited what I had heard from the guards.

"My cell is thirty-eight, first floor."

I blinked and looked up at Jayred.

~~...~~

I was dead if I was caught. _Literally. _That's why I was quiet.

I breathed a stream of ice at the wall, cringing at the _whoosh _noise. I covered my mouth with a paw and cringed, but no guard came bursting through the door, so I continued to do this to wear away at whatever held the stones together. Luckily, the noise was minimal. I breathed ice one last time and pushed the rock; this time it went through.

I silently thanked my stars that the ground was dirt and not stone. Had it been stone, the rock would have screeched.

I lowered myself to the ground. "Hey... Hey, Jay, can you hear me?" I whispered through the hole.

"Loud and clear." Jayred's deep-throated whisper came from the other side.

"Isn't this a bad idea? What if the guards hear us?" I asked anxiously.

"They won't if we keep our voices down. And so what if they do? What more could they possibly take away? They can't kill us for talking. Technically, this isn't even against those ridiculous rules."

"Let's not tell Warden Khadi that."

"Agreed." Jayred chuckled quietly. "Alright, so you best get started on that long story of yours. It's always nice to learn a little history."

"I better start at the beginning..." I said.

I told him everything—what happened, how I felt about it, right down to every detail. I even told him about Jayred Ice-Heart. I started with that fateful day in the Swamp and just kept going on and on until the second defeat of Malefor. When my story was done, I took a breath.

"...Wow," Jayred said.

"You haven't spoken a word in the past two hours and now all you're going to say is 'wow'?" I wondered.

"I'm just... surprised. How is it that one day you're a hero, and the next you're—"

"'Criminal scum'?" I asked bitterly, quoting Khadi.

"Exactly."

"That's a long story as well, one I don't care to tell."

"Alright."

I waited for Jayred to say more, but he didn't speak. "I think I'm going to get some sleep. Long day and all.

"Night, Crystal." With that, the rock was inserted back into place.

I sighed and scooted away from the wall. What an exciting day... although, then again, all outside days were.

I began to look forward to the days ahead. Jayred was wrong. This prison did give things back. It gave me a new friend, and that friend gave me hope. That was enough for now.

~~...~~

I was startled out of my nap as the door to my cell swung open. "If you're here to search my cell, you're not going to find anything, just like the last time and the time before that," I said tiredly, not looking up.

"What are you talking about, purple girl?" a _very _familiar voice said.

"SPARX!" I screamed, hopping to my feet and nearly tackling the poor dragonfly.

"Hey, glad to see you too," Sparx laughed, hugging me the best he could.

I then turned to see Spyro standing in the open doorway. He offered a sad smile.

All my anger had melted away long ago. I was very sorry for snapping at him like I did. With that in mind, I rushed over and hugged him as well.

"I'm sorry..." I said, breaking away.

"I know you didn't mean what you said," Spyro replied, smiling. Just like that, the ice between us melted and everything was back to normal.

The guard posted outside pulled the door shut. "Ya got an hour!" he called as he continued his routes. Thankfully, Sparx's glow lit up the dark room, not that there was anything to see.

"Man, how do you live here? This place smells like the Well of Souls," Sparx said.

"The bad smell is the least of my problems here," I said with a short laugh.

"How are you coping?" Spyro asked.

"Well, it's not as much of a nightmare as it used to be, thanks to a friend," I said.

"A friend?" he echoed.

"You want to meet him?"

"How?"

"Shh," I whispered, walking over to the wall and tapping three times. One tap answered me. I tapped four times and the loose stone was pushed toward me.

Our code system worked as so. One tap is 'Yes', two is 'No', three is 'Are you there?', and four is 'I want to talk'.

"Crystal? Who's in your cell?" Jayred asked me.

"My brothers. I wanted you to meet them," I whispered, leaning down to the crack.

"Will they tell the guards?"

"Of course not." I straightened. "Spyro, come here. Just lean down and whisper into it."

I stepped out of the way as Spyro walked over. "Hello?" he whispered.

"Hey. You're Spyro, right? My name's Jayred. Nice to meet you."

"You, too."

"I'm Sparx, the former god of Tall Plains," Sparx whispered.

"It's been nearly ten years and you still call yourself that?" I asked, smacking a paw to my face with a laugh.

"Hey, they did worship me!" Sparx exclaimed, grinning.

"It's not you they were worshipping, Pixie Dust," I teased.

"Hmph, Pixie Dust. I haven't been called that in... well, six years," Sparx said.

"That's just 'cause I haven't been around to keep you in line..." I said soberly, all the humor gone from my voice.

"Is this going to turn into an angst party? Because if it is, I can just leave now," Jayred said.

I snorted with amusement. "No, Jayred, you can stay."

The next fifty minutes were the happiest I had had since I arrived at Barrin's Keep. Spyro, Sparx, Jayred, and I talked the whole time. But the minutes flew like seconds, and before I knew it, a guard knocked on the door. I had to quickly shove the stone back into place. It was hardly in before Garrison, of _all _dragons, walked in.

"Time's up," he said.

"Can't we have a little longer?" Spyro protested.

"Warden says an hour. Time's _up."_

"Don't make the warden mad... we'll both regret it." I laughed nervously at the thought. No food for a week wasn't pleasant last time and I hated to think of what worse punishments that could be inflicted on me.

"Alright. Bye, Crystal," Spyro said, giving me another hug. Sparx hugged me as well.

"See you guys in three years..." I said sadly.

"Hurry it up! I haven't got all day," Garrison complained. I bit my tongue to keep back a rude remark.

"We're coming," Spyro said, glaring daggers at the guard and heading out the door. Sparx turned one last time, waved, and disappeared as Garrison slammed the door shut.

After I was sure he was out of earshot, I tapped on the wall and pushed the stone in. "Sorry, Jayred. Garrison walked in with little warning."

"It's alright, Crystal. You know, I like those two. They're not so bad."

"Too bad I won't see them for another three years..." I murmured, closing my eyes. I was dismayed to find that their faces in the memory-pictures had blurred already.

"Hey, it's not so bad." Jayred's voice held a soothing tone to it.

My eyes snapped open. "You're kidding, right?"

Jayred laughed. "Yeah, it's bad. But you still have your family, don't you?"

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. And myself, huh?"

"Look at it this way: At least you're not like me."

"Nonsense. You're Jayred, aren't you?"

"Yeah, kiddo, I guess I am. Now get some sleep. You must be tired."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and sighed as he put the stone back in place. I was glad that I had reconciled with Spyro, but his words from six years ago still weighed heavy on my heart. And it was nice to see Sparx again, of course.

But there were three I was still aching to see. Mom, Dad, and Maggie. First of all, with Mom and Dad... what could they possibly think? They were probably horrified... I wouldn't blame them if they never even wanted to see me again. And Maggie... although she was twelve, she was six when the incident happened. Of course, Spyro probably had never told her, so hopefully she wouldn't know for a long time yet.

I closed my eyes and squinted, trying to remember home. After a moment, the picture popped into my mind. I could see the Swamp clearly. I smiled slightly, and even though I knew I shouldn't lie to myself, I pretended... just for a moment... that I was going home.

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><p><strong>AN:**

**River, if you're reading this, I PUT JAYRED IN A STORY! Happy now? :'D Okay, just kidding with you. I'm keeping my promise like I said. XD Also, title credit to whoever created the game of the same name on Kongregate.**


	3. Twenty–one

I sighed and rested my head against the wall. The trial would be held soon... and what was I going to say? I wasn't even completely sure what had happened. The evidence was pointing _against _me, but no... I couldn't have... They weren't even trying me as a child, either, which only would make it worse if I was guilty...

_A child doesn't murder fifty people... _I thought to myself. I furrowed my brow.

I looked up as I heard several footsteps. A few moments later, the three Guardians came into view. I couldn't make out any emotion on their faces, so at the very least they probably weren't going to yell at me.

I stood up and walked up to the bars of the cell. "What is it? Why are you here?" I asked in confusion. I hadn't had any visitors... not even Spyro or Sparx. Yet the Guardians came...?

"I want to know... we all want to know... What happened out there?" Terrador asked.

"What I know of you and your behavior certainly doesn't match the mindset of most people who commit a crime as serious as this one," Volteer said.

"Did you really...?" Cyril trailed off.

_Can I even answer that question? _I thought.

"No... no." I shook my head. "I-I don't know."

"It just doesn't make sense," Cyril said, more to the other Guardians than to me.

"You're right. I'm confused as well. I don't feel like a killer. Not that it matters anymore." I laughed, but the laugh was forced and frightened. "All I can say is that I don't _feel _like I did it. I don't _think _did it. I don't know I didn't do it, but I feel I'm innocent."

"If what you say is true," Terrador said, "then I'll do everything I can to help you."

"As will I," Cyril said.

Volteer merely nodded reassuringly.

"Thanks... I really do appreciate it. But I don't think there's much else that can be done." I retreated to the back of my cell to wait.

Two hours later, a guard came to the cell and led me to the trial room. Spyro, Volteer, Cyril, Terrador, the jury, and a small group of people I didn't recognize were here, along with the guards who stood on either side of the door. I was led to the front of the room, where the jury was sitting in an orderly line. There were seven dragons making it up.

"Crystal, you've been charged with fifty-three counts of murder in the first degree, thirty-seven counts of arson, and two counts of assault. How do you plead?" a male juror asked.

I paused. Should I just give up? No... I couldn't. I had to try. "Not guilty."

There was a short pause, before one of the jurors asked, "Where were you on the night the crime took place?"

"Altonfield."

"So you admit to being in the town the crime was committed?"

"Yes."

"Why were you there?" Another juror spoke up, this time a female.

"I was passing through on my way to Warfang."

The juror stared at me. "I call on Spyro," she said.

Spyro stood up and awkwardly made his voice over and sat down a few feet away from me.

"I understand you and your sister have some sort of special connection? Specifically, something that prevents you from going far apart from each other?"

"Yes."

"Where were you on the night the crime was committed?"

"Well... near Saifae, in the Swamp..." Spyro said.

"How is it that you were far away from each other? Why didn't you accompany your sister on her journey to Warfang?"

"I was needed at Saifae for the time being, and Crystal was the only one who was able and willing to go. The connection doesn't prevent us from going far away from each other, it just... tries to prevent us."

"I see... you may go back."

He went back.

Another juror turned to me. "Crystal, what exactly happened when you arrived at Altonfield?"

"Well, I had stopped to travel on foot about an hour before, so I wasn't flying when I came to the town. All I remember is walking along the road, and then everything went black. I'm not sure if I fainted or something hit me, or what happened. When I woke up..." I hesitated. "The city was burning, and all of the occupants were dead. And that's it."

"So you claim you have amnesia?" a juror asked.

"Yes. I can't remember what happened."

"What a coincidence..." the female juror said in a tone that stated that she didn't believe a word I was saying. "I call on Kori."

I looked around and spotted a male ice dragon. He met my gaze with a... well... icy glare. The dragon, apparently Kori, was such a light blue that he was nearly white. He had four horns, two small, of the same strange color. His eyes were steel blue and unusually large, giving him a childlike air.

"Kori, where were you on the night the crime was committed?" yet another juror asked.

"I was in my home in Altonfield."

"Do you live alone?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, what happened after Crystal arrived?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure what happened when she first started her _rampage,_ but I heard an explosion and went out. That... that demon was killing off everybody and setting the town on fire! Luckily, I managed to get away, along with these other four before she could slaughter us."

"I did no such thing!" I exclaimed, glaring at Kori.

"An investigator found traces that the element of convexity was used to kill some of the people residing in Altonfield," a juror said, turning to me. "Is convexity not an element that can only be wielded by purple dragons?"

"That's not true. There are special cases where a normal dragon can use that element."

"Like Cynder, for instance? She cannot breathe the four elements—_your _elements—that were used to kill, and there are no other dragons known to us."

As the trial progressed and each dragon told their story, it began to dawn on me. It wasn't long before I couldn't push the thought away. There was no way to deny it. All the evidence pointed to it, while I had no evidence to support my own claim.

I was guilty.

I continued to fight, though. I still clung to a shred of hope. Maybe I still had a chance.

Finally, after an hour, the trial was over and it was time for the jury to decide whether I was guilty or not. I was forced into the back of the room with the others, so I wouldn't hear the conversation.

I was very uncomfortable. All eyes were on me as I sat with my head low, as frantic thoughts raced through my mind.

"We've made our decision." The female juror rose and stepped forward. Her face was grave. "For the charge of fifty-three counts of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant not guilty. However," she said, making me stop in the middle of my sigh of relief, "we have concluded that the defendant had committed those murders in the second degree, and for that, we find her guilty."

"For the charge of thirty-seven counts of arson, we find the defendant guilty," another juror said.

"For the charges of two counts of assault, we find the defendant not guilty," yet another one said.

My previously relieved look was now crestfallen. My hopes were draining fast.

"We were previously going to sentence Crystal to exile, but we remember what happened with Malefor," the female juror said, glancing at me. "We sentence the defendant to life in the prison Barrin's Keep."

"No..." The word escaped my throat before I could stop it. Kori and his group looked visibly displeased, but they kept their silence.

"This meeting is adjourned."

A half an hour later, I was back in my cell. My transporting to Barrin's Keep was pending and I would be leaving in less than an hour.

I heard the Guardians' footsteps and a few moments later, they came into view. I lowered my head and made no move to move to the front of the cage.

"I'm sorry. We tried to reason with them, but they wouldn't listen. We've done everything we can," Terrador said.

_"You're _sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry. I failed you. I failed everyone," I said.

"Despite what they say,_ I _certainly don't believe you murdered anybody," Cyril said.

"Yeah, well, believe it. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't remember what happened, but what they say I did was the only thing that could have happened. And even if that's not the case, it doesn't matter. I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison." I sighed. "You should go. Goodbye... and thank you for trying. It means everything to me."

The Guardians exchanged glances before turning and heading out of the room.

I didn't have peace for very long. Spyro walked in a few minutes later, but unlike the Guardians, he was in no way calm. I could feel the anger radiating off him.

"How could you?" Spyro demanded immediately.

"What?" I asked, taken aback. Spyro was almost _never _angry. Spyro was always calm and collected, but now he was enraged.

"How could you kill all of those people? Do you know what you did?"

"No. I have amnesia, remember?" I asked, recollecting my senses.

"You're lying!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Why do you keep fighting this? It wouldn't be so bad if you just admitted you're lying!"

"I'd never lie! I'd never do something like this! I haven't changed; I'm still your sister!"

"Are you? I don't think you are anymore. My sister wouldn't do anything like this. You're a monster, not Crystal. You deserve what you're getting." Before I could say anything else, Spyro promptly turned and left the room.

I awoke from my flashback dream, only to find that I was back in my cell. I sighed deeply. Spyro didn't feel like that anymore, at least, but it didn't help to know he had felt that way.

"What have I done?" I asked aloud.

_"Because I know you. And your heart would not allow it. Because I believe you are destined for great things..." _

I'm not sure why the voice came, but the words that had once calmed my fears filled me with anger.

"Great things, huh?" I muttered. "I guess you didn't know me that well, Ignitus."

A few seconds passed. As expected, I didn't get an answer. I stood to my feet. "You were wrong! Why did you lie to me? ! Why did you tell me that? !"

The guards outside the door ignored me. Screaming was common among the prisoners. As I was quieting down, four staccato taps came from the left wall. I walked over and pushed the rock in.

"Hey, what's the problem?" Jayred whispered.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Yeah, that explains why you're screaming. What's wrong?"

"I just had a bad dream. About the trial," I mumbled.

"What was all that yelling at the end?"

"Nothing, nothing. It doesn't matter... anymore. Just never—" I gasped as the door swung open. Sure I was dead, I whirled around.

Spyro and Sparx were there. I breathed a sigh of relief at seeing them. "Has it been three years already?" I glanced at the marks I had scratched into the wall—tiny lines, to help keep days—and smacked myself when I saw what the date was.

"Yeah. That restriction they placed is so stupid." Sparx rolled his eyes as Spyro closed the door.

"Agreed. Three years is a little much..." I said, secretly worrying. I hoped they hadn't heard my outburst.

"How have you been holding up?" Spyro asked, sitting down.

"A little worse than usual... the guards get meaner every day. But I'm alright," I said.

"Is that Spyro and Sparx?" Jayred asked.

"Yup," I answered.

"What about you, Jayred? How have you been?" Spyro asked.

"What Crystal said."

"Oh, don't mind him. Days around here are just boring."

"How bad is it around here? Not counting the smell, anyway," Sparx said.

"Bad. We're only allowed to go outside twice a year—"

"_What?"_ Spyro asked, appalled.

"...The guards practically torture us, there's nothing to do, and... well, no matter, it isn't really _that _bad. You get used to it after a while."

Both Spyro and Sparx were staring at me now.

"Really, I mean it! After a while... never mind. How are Mom and Dad?"


	4. Twenty–four

I was awakened from my sleep by the door opening swiftly. I blinked sleepily and stood up.

"Spyro? Hey, I'm so glad to see you." I smiled at the sight of Spyro, but my smile vanished when I saw the look in his eyes. "Spyro? What's wrong?"

Spyro seemed to be nervous. He closed the door and paced around a few times. I knew he wanted to say something, but he couldn't seem to speak.

I waited patiently. Finally, he did speak. "Crystal... I'm going to break you out out here."

"What? Oh, you're kidding. I get it." I laughed nervously, but Spyro's gaze remained resolute. "...You aren't joking, are you?"

Spyro shook his head.

"Spyro, I can't let you do that. You'll just hurt both of us. Those guards mean business, and they won't hesitate to kill you or me if they catch us."

"The won't catch us. And if they do, we can just knock them out," Spyro said.

"No. I can't leave. I've done enough illegal things... I can't spend the rest of my life running away, and I'm not going to make you, either."

"We won't run forever. I have a plan."

I tried to come up with another reason as to why I couldn't leave, but I found that I couldn't. "I... I don't know..."

"Do you trust me?" Spyro asked.

"Of course I do, but—"

"If you trust me, then come with me." Spyro turned, opened the door, and walked out.

I hesitated. I knew that I shouldn't leave, but...

_I've got nothing else to lose, _I thought to myself. Sighing, I turned and walked out of the door. Spyro was going to get us both killed, but it was either that or stay in the darkness forever...

"Stay low," Spyro whispered to me, crouching down. I followed suit.

I examined the area. I had never seen but a glimpse of it before. There were two floors, but it was a single room. Everything here was made of stone. Every few feet on either side of the wall was a steel door. The top floor was the same, except there was only a railing on either side. There were two lit torches on the wall every three cells, alternating sides. Most importantly, there was a guard coming!

Spyro and I slunk into the shadows. When the guard was behind us, Spyro lashed out and hit him in the head. The guard slumped and fell to the ground.

"Great, now what do we do with him?" I whispered.

"Put him in your cell. That way nobody will find him," Spyro said.

I opened my cell door and, with Spyro's help, dragged the dragon inside. I closed the door quietly. "Wait. Before we leave, there's just two things I need to do," I said.

"Crystal, we don't have time for this."

"We have plenty of time. Just be patient." I walked over to the cell that was to the left of mine. The numbers '38' were imprinted on it in large gilded writing.

I tapped the door three times. After a few moments, there was a very light tap on the door. I slid the seeing-slot open.

"Jayred?" I asked.

"Crystal? I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the tapping... How did you get out of your cell?" Jayred asked, disbelief apparent in his voice.

"Spyro's helping me get out of here. You're coming with us. I can blast the door open... the guard we knocked out doesn't have any keys."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"What? But Jayred—"

"My place is here, Crystal. I belong here... this is my home."

"No, Jayred, you have to come with us," I pleaded.

"Get out of here and find your home, Crystal."

"Jay..."

"Go."

I paused. We didn't have time to argue, and Jayred just wasn't coming no matter how long I stood there. Holding back tears and knowing I was going to lose my friend forever, I slid the panel closed and turned away.

"Come on, Crystal. We need to leave, _now," _Spyro said.

"Wait. We're going to need to move through the prison without drawing attention to ourselves. Every door that leads to the outside is locked, each with an individual key. And I know just the dragon who has them." I narrowed my eyes.

We continued on, sticking to the shadows, until we were out of the cell areas. Garrison had become the lead guard, and therefore he had his own room, rather than sleeping in the barracks with the other guards. I wasn't sure where his room would be, but I had a feeling it would be in the eastern wing, so that's the way we went.

Because we didn't have anywhere to hide a body, we refrained from knocking out the guards and instead went around them. By the time we reached Garrison's room, my heart was pounding in my head.

I opened the door and slipped inside. The room was a modest size. There was a desk in one corner and a bed in the other. On the desk were a few papers and a lit candle. I closed the door behind me and walked over to the sleeping dragon. The keys were wrapped in his paws, held on a keychain.

I knew I should have just knocked him out, but I had a few words to say to him. I grabbed Garrison's muzzle and clamped it shut. His eyes shot open and he began to struggle, but Spyro held him down.

"Hello, Garris. Didn't expect to see me, did you?" I grinned, my face right in front of his.

Garrison struggled, but he couldn't get away.

"I could do so many horrible things to you. After all the things you did to me, there's no doubt that you deserve it," I growled. Spyro's face was stoic and unreadable.

"Mmm!" Garrison cried.

"But..." I said, dropping down to his level. "I won't." With that, I hit Garrison in the head with just enough force to knock him out.

"You really scared me for a second there. I thought you were going to kill him," Spyro said, releasing a breath.

I shrugged. "He's not worth my time. Come on, let's get the keys and get out of here." I pried Garrison's paw open, picked up the keys with my teeth, and set out.

About ten minutes later, we came to the hallway that led to the exit. I peeked out around the corner and saw four guards near the door.

"What do we do? There's too many of them," I whispered to Spyro. I jumped as the sound of clanging bells reached my ears.

"Uh-oh! That's the alarm! They're onto us!" I hissed.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Spyro and I whirled around. There was a group of guards standing behind us. Two of them were cheetahs, one of which had a bow pointed right at me. The other three were dragons.

"Spyro, they don't accept surrenders... RUN!" We bolted, and not a moment too soon, as an explosion of electricity blasted where we were standing.

Luckily, the doors were opened outward. Spyro slammed into him, and considering how strong he was, they flew open with ease. We continued forward, but were forced to skid to a halt. We had nearly right into a lava stream!

I looked around frantically. On either side of the top of the walls were cheetahs and panthers armed with bows. When they saw us, they raised their weapons and wasted no time in firing.

_Well, no flying here, _I thought to myself, dashing forward, around the stream, and hugging the wall.

"Aah!" Spyro cried as we entered a large volcanic field. He came to a halt. There were geysers everywhere here, and now the bow-armed forces were on foot and running after us! I obviously hadn't been getting very much exercise, so I would never be able to outfly them. I wasn't even sure if I remembered how to fly. And, just to add to it, there various lava pits hidden in the ground! If we tripped over or fell into one of those...

I suddenly hatched a plan. I remembered what I had done at Twilight Falls years ago... what was mindless fooling around then now would save our lives.

"Spyro! I have an idea." I picked up a long slab of wood-like debris. I didn't know where it came from, but I didn't care. I tossed another piece to Spyro and ran over to the lava stream. It was going downhill, steadily increasing. Perfect.

"Wait... are you crazy? !" Spyro yelled.

"It's the only way!" I threw the piece of debris into the lava—thank the ancestors, it didn't melt—and hopped onto it, beginning my descent.

Spyro, after glancing back at the guards quickly approaching, followed me.

We began to pick up speed after about a minute as the slope increased. I struggled to balance on the board and I wished I had picked a wider one.

"Crystal, we're going to need to stop in a few minutes! There's a magic forcefield surrounding the volcano! We need to turn it off if we're going to get out!" Spyro yelled.

"Alright, but that's not the main problem here!" I yelled back.

"What is?"

"That! STEER RIGHT!" I swerved my board to the left and just barely missed slamming into a strip of land.

Spyro went right. We glanced at each other. The river had split into two... and we weren't on the same side!

This went on for a few minutes... That is, until the river turned sharply on both sides, leading us even farther away from each other.. But that wasn't the end of it, no. The river came back together into one again.

I tried to slow down, but I couldn't, and I didn't have enough time to jump off the board. I collided into Spyro when the rivers met up again, and we were sent flying onto the land.

I sat up, dizzy, and barely noticed a fire dragon running towards us. I breathed a weak burst of earth that hardly staggered him.

"What was that?" Spyro asked, getting up and knocking the guard over.

"What do you expect? We aren't allowed to use our elements," I replied, walking over to the guard and hitting him in the head. "There's the exit building. That's probably where they keep whatever has this forcefield going!"

We dashed forward and ran into the building. Just on the outskirts of it, the air was wavering—most like the forcefield. No guards in sight. We walked up to a desk in front of a large glass window.

"That has to be it," Spyro said, motioning to a blue glowing orb. Most likely powered by the ice element.

"Oh, that's one of the things that was on the White Isle. But how to we turn it off?" I wondered aloud.

"There has to be a way to reset them. Maybe..." Spyro placed his paw on the orb. It began to glow and it faded to white after a few moments.

"What did you do?" I asked, glancing out the window and watching the forcefield fade away.

"I absorbed it like it was a Spirit Gem," Spyro explained.

"Hmm. Alright, let's go. The guards will be here any second."

We exited the building and quickly ran forward. We had reached the end of the volcano's slope, but we weren't out of it yet.

I was right. After a few minutes, we arrived at a chasm. But it wasn't just any chasm—it was too deep to see into, too wide to jump over, and most importantly, it was a ring that surrounded the island so you couldn't run around it! Although its main purpose was likely to stop lava from reaching the forest or any cities, it also functioned as a way to keep prisoners who hadn't flown in years from escaping.

Spyro jumped into the air and flew to the other side. He turned. "Come on, Crystal! They're coming! Fly over!" he shouted.

"I... I can't..." I said, shaking my head.

"What? What do you mean?" Spyro demanded.

"I forgot how to fly! I can't cross!" I glanced back behind my shoulder. There were about ten guards, and among them was Warden Khadi.

"Just jump into the air and flap your wings! Hurry!"

I closed my eyes and concentrated. I had to fly... I at least had to try. I couldn't fail Spyro now.

_"Just forget everything you thought you knew. Forget yourself! For only by forgetting, you will remember what your ancient blood already knows."_

I couldn't fail Ignitus again.

"_You can fly."_

I could feel everything melting away. I cleared my mind, forgot myself, forgot the world itself...

I opened my eyes. It was just like the first time. I closed my eyes and I was on the ground, and when I opened them I was flying.

The feeling was the same too. I felt like I was a young hatchling again, first flight, that exhilarating feeling...

I flew forward, dodging a fireball and laughing all the way. We had escaped them! I was free!

We flew for about ten minutes before landing in the cover of a forest. I was still laughing when I collapsed on the ground. "I cannot believe we just did that!"

Spyro laughed too, but his face turned serious after a moment. "It's nearly dawn. We should sleep and keep going tonight."

"Are you crazy? The guards will be right on our tail! They'll search the area and find us."

"They'll be able to see us in broad daylight, though, especially if we fly. We need the cover of night. Anyway, we need sleep. We're going to find the evidence that proves your innocence tomorrow."

"We are?" I asked, cocking my head.

"We are."

"I don't know if there's anything left to prove. But we can try." I nodded my head resolutely. "We can try."


	5. Return to the Past

I gave a flap of my wings as I coasted through the sky. The hues of orange, pink, and purple looked as if they had been put there by the stroke of a paintbrush. Spyro was just in front of me, leading the way to the truth.

_What would be worse? _I thought to myself. _If we found evidence that incriminates me, or if we found nothing at all?_

I looked up into the sky, where the stars were just faintly sparkling and flapped my wings again. I wished. I wished that I had never passed through Altonfield. I wished that I hadn't been found guilty for the murdering of all those people.

But nothing happened. Of course it wouldn't, I knew, but there had been a small sliver of hope that I would be taken back to that day twelve years ago, and I'd say, no... no, I can't go to Warfang.

While I was thinking, my mind went plunging back into that day. The day where it all ended.

Saifae was looking up, although reconstruction had hardly begun. It had only been a week, after all. Some buildings were still intact and all that needed to be done was simply remove and replace the charred wood or cracked stone, but other buildings had been irreparably destroyed and needed to be taken down completely.

All but the youngest among us worked from dawn until dusk or even longer. The children simply carried tools to the adults who were working, but even they were helping.

People came and went; some came from Warfang simply to help and leave again when they were done, others came for the promise of a new home where they could live peacefully. For them, Warfang held too many sorrowful memories.

"Crystal! Could you come here?" Terrador's voice rang out over Saifae.

I turned and walked towards him. "Do you need help with something?" I queried once we were within speaking distance.

"Yes, I need you to do something. We need a letter delivered to Warfang's council," Terrador replied.

"Why me? Can't a hawk do it?"

"The only hawk currently here is not a messenger hawk. I could get Spyro to go instead, but you're faster than he is. And we cannot have both of you go... One of you is needed here."

"What's in the letter?"

Terrador gazed at me with what seemed like... sympathy? "I'm not able to disclose that information."

I studied the ground. "Alright, I'll go. Just let me tell my family where I'm going." I nodded, turned, and headed towards the Swamp.

About a half-hour later, I was ready. I got the letter from Terrador and was about to take off when Spyro caught up with me.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked.

"Somebody has to go," I said, turning around.

"But—"

"Quit worrying about me, Spyro. I'll only be gone for a day at most, and I'm sure I'm capable of fending off whatever hostile creatures I encounter. What could happen?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this," Spyro said, averting his gaze.

"_Goodbye,_ Spyro." I rolled my eyes and took off. Spyro was just being paranoid. There was nothing to worry about. Fly to Warfang and fly back... simplicity itself.

Somewhere inside me, so deep that I couldn't feel it, there was a tiny knot of dread.

I flew for hours. At first, the pain that shot up my side was nearly unbearable and I felt as if I needed to land, but as I got farther away, it dulled to an ache before fading completely.

Spyro and I had been trying to break the... whatever it was that was doing that to us. We went farther from each other every day until it hardly hurt anymore. We couldn't stay close together forever, after all.

I glanced at the sun. It was merely a blood-red dot on the horizon now. I didn't like traveling at night, but Warfang was only an hour or two away and I could rest once I was there. I flapped my wings, now sore from flying for three hours.

I sighed as I glanced at the boring scenery around me; a prairie that stretched along endlessly, grass waving in the cool night breeze. I had already left the large island that my home was situated on and crossed the ocean onto the mainlands. Now all I had to do was cross the wild terrain that led to Warfang.

The area below me eventually began to fill with trees until I was flying over a forest. I squinted at the horizon and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Warfang's speck on the horizon. By now, the moons had risen from their slumber and taken their place in the sky.

I glanced down and managed to make something out in the distance. Outlines... shapes... buildings. Houses, that is. I was approaching a town.

Deciding that I could risk resting my wings for a minute, I drew closer to the town and glided down to it, touching down on its outskirts.

The town was large, larger than Saifae was. About forty buildings were here. Most were houses, but there were shops, what appeared to be a school, and a few other non-residential buildings. The whole place was dead-silent; not a single candle illuminated a window and no voices could be heard.

I looked around uneasily. It could only be eight or nine at the latest. Where was everybody? I took a few cautious steps forward, glancing around as I did. Perhaps the town had been abandoned? Or maybe people just went to sleep earlier.

I tensed suddenly. Something was wrong. My instincts were telling me that I needed to get out of there immediately. _Run! _my mind screamed. I was about to do just that when I just blacked out. I felt a pain in my side. The world faded before I hit the ground.

I slept for a long time. When I woke up, my mind felt like the tumbling of waves; wild and unpredictable. I managed to bring myself to my feet, the lethargy that overwhelmed me resisting every movement.

Breathing heavily, I blinked several times. There was a warmth around me, bathing me in a soothing glow. So familiar, but what was it?

_Fire._

The word rang in my mind. Fire, fire, fire. Why was there fire? My heart leapt into my throat. Was the forest on fire? !

I raised my head, and when I did, my face drained of all color. It all came back to me... the town, the silence, the fear.

The whole place was on fire. Some buildings had already collapsed, while others were still standing, although they wouldn't be for long. I looked around frantically, and that's when I spotted him.

A dragon, laying a few paces away from me. He was an adult, by the look of him, and also seemed to be a fire dragon. It was so dark, despite the fire, that I couldn't make out any other features.

I stepped forward cautiously, on my guard. As I stepped forward, I managed to make out the blood that stained the ground near him.

_Oh, no... _I thought. I crouched down near the dragon. I stared at him closely, but I couldn't make out his breathing. His eyes were open , as if he were in shock. He was dead.

It was apparent that somebody had swiped at him with their claws by the wound in his chest, but who had killed him? I gazed at him with even more intensity. The wounds... they had been... corroded slightly. Not enough corrosion to be the work of poison, and there were no burns, so that only left...

Convexity.

My breath caught in my throat. I held up my paw beside the wound. The wound that had been left there matched my claw size.

"No... _no!"_ I yelled, jumping away as if I had been burned. Impossible. I wouldn't do that. I couldn't do that! But... what about convexity? Nobody had the ability to breathe that element beside Spyro, Cynder, and me. I was the only one here.

I backed away from the dead dragon, but that's when I noticed that there were several more dragons laying about, all dead. I was forced into a full-blown panic then. Holding in a scream, I turned and dashed away, taking to the air as quickly as I could. I no longer had the letter, but I didn't care.

I fled the town, but where to go? Home? No, I couldn't. Warfang? Oh, that was an even worse idea! No, wait, it was a good idea. I needed to tell somebody what had happened here. They would get to the bottom of it, and tell me that it hadn't been me after all. Of course. That was the best way to go about it.

I returned my thoughts to the real world. I couldn't bear to think of that day anymore. Ever since that one day, that one mistake, the world went downhill. My world had been hanging by thread over a deep abyss, and on that day, the thread had snapped. And everything started to fall, leaving me behind in the darkness.

"Crystal?" Spyro's voice drew me out of my thoughts.

"Y-yeah?" I stuttered slightly.

"We're here." Spyro flew down and landed on the ground with ease. Me, not so much. I spiraled down in a circle, unsure of how to do ti correctly, and landed on my face rather than my feet. At least I wasn't hurt, anyway. I stood up and shook myself off.

I noticed with displeasure that the sun had set, and we had arrived at the exact same time I had twelve years ago. I shivered as the unnamed fire dragon's face was forced into my mind.

Spyro took a step forward and I slowly followed him, glancing around. The town was nothing now. The rubble left by the buildings hadn't been cleaned up, but the bodies had been. The forest had begun to take back the land, also, as the tall grass grew unchecked and there were a few small trees in the middle of the dirt road.

"Where should we look?" I asked, keeping my voice at a respectfully low tone.

"You check the buildings on the left. I'll check the ones on the right," Spyro replied, walking away.

"What do we look for?"

"We'll know it when we see it." Spyro didn't turn.

I tsked and turned towards what was left of the first building. Careful not to step on any sharp pieces of wood, I sifted through the debris. Although I found the usual household contents, nothing really seemed to be evidence.

The next building was somewhat intact. Although the ceiling had crashed in, the walls and even the second floor were still standing, the occasional gap aside. I stepped through the portion of wall that had been burned and into the bottom floor.

The room was devoid of furniture. There was absolutely nothing in it except charred remains. I glanced warily at the stairs, their steps looking as if they would give out at the slightest bit of pressure, and bravely began my ascent up them. One of the stairsteps did break, but I managed to step back before I could fall through.

I reached the top of the stairs and stepped carefully onto the top. I knew what I was doing was dangerous, but I didn't care. Like the room below, this room's contents had been burned until there was nothing left. Just to make sure I wasn't missing anything, I walked into the middle.

I yelped as the floor crashed beneath me. I managed to dig my claws into the floor, but that only slowed my descent slightly.

"Ow-ow-ow!" I cried as the jagged edges of the wood caught me and prevented me from falling. I thrashed, trying to break myself free. As soon as I did, I wished I hadn't. I screamed as I plummeted down to the second floor, something tearing in the process.

I nearly blacked out when I landed, but unfortunately, I didn't. A searing pain was emanating from my left wing. I looked over and noticed with horror that the membrane had been torn, from top to bottom in the middle.

"What happened?" Spyro asked, running through the hole and over to me.

"The floor—broke," I managed to gasp out through the pain.

"Are you alright?" Spyro demanded.

I glanced at my wing. Surprisingly, the pain had already dulled. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Will I be able to fly?"

"I don't know. We need to get to to Warfang so that can be fixed."

"Why? So they can heal me before carting me back to jail? No, I'm not going back there until I have evidence that says I'm innocent." I turned and began to walk away.

"If we don't leave, you may never be able to fly again!" Spyro exclaimed.

I hesitated. "...We have to stay."

It was a hard decision to make. Flying was something I loved to do. Well... _had _loved to do, anyway. It had been my whole life, and the years without being in the air had all but killed me. But what was the point of leaving? Once my wing was fixed, I would just be sent back to the prison, where I'd never be able to fly again—that is, if they didn't kill me on sight for escaping.

Determined, I continued on down the line of burned buildings, searching through all of them. When I finished picking through the last ruin, I prepared to join Spyro on the right side when I spotted a house. The house was placed far from the rest, and notably had very little damage done to it at all. Although the front end of the house was charred and it sagged from the years of abandonment, it was in nearly perfect condition.

"Hey, Spyro, come over here," I called. Spyro did as he was told.

"Wow. That house looks as if it hadn't even been touched," Spyro said.

I headed towards it, making my way through the grass that nearly came up to my head. Spyro followed me somewhat reluctantly. When we reached the door, I pushed on it. With a _creeeeaaaak, _it opened and we stepped through.

I looked around. The room was dark, but I could make out the outlines of furniture. I spotted a desk and walked over to it, coughing as I kicked up a thick blanket of dust.

Luckily, there was a window right above the desk. The moonlight filtered in through it, those little particles dancing in the light. I walked up to the desk and looked around it, but there was nothing on it. I was about to leave when I noticed something wedged between a wall and the desk's leg.

"It's a journal," I said aloud as I pulled it out. Spyro walked over beside me as I flipped it open to the first page and set it on the desk.

I squinted at the letters. They were just lines and circles... had I forgotten how to read? I knew I could read numbers, but... I breathed a sigh of relief as the shapes turned into familiar letters.

I flipped through the pages, skimming over the text. Nothing interesting was in here. I was about to put it back when a word caught my eyes.

_Malefor._

I looked back at the top of the page and began to read, my eyes widening as I did so.

"Spyro, you need to see this," I said, voice quivering.


	6. Insanity

Spyro walked over. Wordlessly, I set the journal back on the desk and stepped aside so he could see it. The handwriting inside of the worn, leather-bound book was next to unintelligible.

Don't be disappointed in me, Malefor. I didn't mean to fail you. I'm sorry I'm not strong enough, not strong enough to save you. But I'm so loyal... I'll always be loyal to you.  
>I<br>tried

He'snotgone  
>Ifeelhimtherewaitingforme<p>

I'll kill them for you, Malefor, kill the traitors who took your life away. I'll make them suffer, the way I've suffered. I'll kill them... slowly... All for you... and all for me!

Redredredredredredred REDREDREDREDREDBLACK

Yes! I've got one of them! The girl, the purple dragon known as Crystal! But something went wrong. Somebody saw as I was about to kill her, so I had to get my friends and slaughter all of the townspeople. When we were done, I had a better plan. If I killed her, I would be a suspect, and they would be able to tell. Even if I used convexity, they might catch me. So I framed her. Yes, I killed them all... and you remember my friends, don't you? Natish, Whirlwind, and Bane? They helped me destroy the city. Each is a different element... fire, earth, electricity... but I have ice and convexity! And those are all of _her_ elements!

When the guards from Warfang figure out who allegedly committed the crime, she'll be punished... she'll be killed, at no expense to myself! And then just Cynder and Spyro will be left! Ha ha ha!

I'll kill them all and get revenge your death I swear I shall avenge I will not stop til blood flows red and I have the traitor's head

No, no, _no!_ They didn't give her the death sentence, despite all my efforts! They've given her life in that wretched Barrin's Keep! Aargh‼ Oh, no matter, she's out of the way, at least. Once Spyro and Cynder are dead, I'll go after her.

Mother had left me to die I sat beside her and I cried for hours I continued to weep until a sharp pain made me sleep

Has it really been a year? A year since the girl was imprisoned? No, no, yes. Kori doesn't know. Kori only waits. But what is it I wait for? The time to strike is now. I will go after the traitor first.

Failure. Failure, again. I'm sorry, Master. She hit me with fear. She made me run. But she did not see, for you shrouded me. Even now, you protect me. I must try again... Kori must not fail you. You gave me power, breathed life back into me, so I will give that power and that life back to you.  
>You are the blood, you are the very grip of death, so cold. You are the silence that I cannot hear. You are the cry of a mother who has lost her child, the agony of a tortured soul. You are the the wrath that drives so many. You are the betrayal of one brother against another.<br>You are in Kori. And Kori will release you. Kori will save you. Kori understands.

Loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty loyalty **loyalty ****loyalty loyalty loyalty  
><strong>only to you

Eleven years... so long. And nothing. I did everything I could, but I can't kill them. I just can't get close enough. So many times I have almost gotten them, but then they just don't die. The boy is too strong, the girl is too tightly locked up, the traitor is untouchable.  
>You gave me power... you gave me so much power... I couldn't take it all. The traitor could, but I could only bear convexity. And you tried so hard, too.<br>I failed you so many, many times. I failed you by not being able to contain the elements, like I should have. I failed you by not being able to save you from death. I failed you by not being able to exact your revenge.  
>I shall live out the rest of my days in shame. I will stay in this town, alone, forever. I cannot bear to live any longer, but I must.<br>I'm sorry.  
>I was so close.<br>I tried.

STOP! THE VOICES WON'T GO AWAY! I TRIED, MASTER, I TRIED! WHY DO YOU PUNISH ME? ! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY!

Kill kill kill kill how are you very well thank you kill why do you red and see the tree with a bee what do you mean kill it kill it please don't don't please no kill yourself try harder I won't I won't go away red green yellow blue red green RED RED blood like hello hello hello it's raining kill no no no no yes yes yes why look at yourself WEST WEST WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST have my loyalty so limp put it down do it thank you don't hurt thank you just go away breathe the kill kill roses are redviolets are** SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP **kill

"Wow..." I whispered, shuddering. "Kori was insane..."

"It really wasn't you," Spyro murmured, just as shocked as I was. "Somebody did try to kill me once," he continued. "A dragon, but he stayed in the shadows and eventually ran, so I never figured out who it was. And now that I think about it, it's happened many times through the past few years."

I stepped back. "Wait, I was in that prison for twelve years. And this entry was written twelve years after I was imprisoned..." My eyes widened and I looked around. "That means he's still here!" I hissed.

"You're right," Spyro whispered, looking around. "Come on. We better get out of here before Kori comes back."

I picked up the journal and turned, quickly heading for the exit. Something about that place just made me feel so unsafe. The shadows, alive, reached out to grab me. When I turned, they snapped back. Every step I took made me want to whirl around. I was tense.

After what seemed like a million years, I made it to the door, still open. I stepped out into the cool night air. The moons had nearly reached the middle of the sky, and were already beginning to grow larger, as they always did as it neared dawn.

_Now that we have this journal, they'll be able to match his handwriting and they'll let me go free, _I thought. Excitement welled up inside me.

How had the world changed the past twelve years? Was Saifae and the Temple's reconstruction finished? I supposed so, but had it become a city or stayed a small town? How were Mom and Dad getting along? The Guardians? Cynder and Sparx, and Spyro too? Of course, I could ask him all of those things, but that wasn't exactly the time to play twenty questions.

I glanced back at my torn wing as we walked down the road and wished I could fly. I felt somber again, knowing that I may never be able to. But no reason to cry over it; even if I lost my ability for flight, I'd rather that than staying in Barrin's Keep forever.

As we left the outskirts of the town, I glanced back. The town was nothing but a ghost of its former self now.

My vision flashed. The buildings reappeared in the whole forms, sitting still in the night. Two waxing moons were in the starless sky, casting light down on the houses. The lush grass waved slightly in the night breeze. As I stared back at the open road leading into the forest, a dragon came flying over it, young and female by the looks of it. She coasted over the houses and landed in the road, facing the building where Kori had lived.

The door to it opened and a dragon slipped out. He crouched to the ground and dashed into the shadows, making his roundabout way to the back of the town. Then, he made his way behind the girl, just as she was about to turn around, and quickly hit her in the head as well as her side. She fell to the ground.

But then another door opened and a dragon walked out of a house. He ran over, but before he could do anything, the first dragon blasted him back with convexity, dragged the young dragon over, and used her claws to cut into his chest before pushing her back to her original spot. He motioned to the house her had come out of and three other dragons emerged from it.

More townspeople exited their houses. It wasn't long until there was full-blown hysteria. The villagers ran, screaming, trying to escape or begging for mercy. They were all cut down. One of the the three dragons from the group flew over the houses, breathing a torrent of fire down on them. The blood-red flames lit the night, and soon there was only the occasional elemental blast. And then the massacre group, after a quick search through the woods, turned and flew away, leaving the young dragon amongst the burning buildings and limp bodies.

I shook my head and the vision faded away. All was calm again. The bodies were gone and the houses were just debris once more. The grass, which had been burned in a sweep of fire, was back and little trees grew in the areas where the forest had been burned down.

"You okay?" Spyro asked. He took a step towards me.

I shook my head again, trying to clear the thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go. If we're quick, we should reach Warfang by dawn." I started walking down the footpath that led into the forest. And so I left behind the town where my life had ended. I never saw it again.

Eventually, the unused path became so overgrown that we couldn't follow it anymore, so we veered off into the forest. Spyro occasionally took off into the air to see if we were going in the right direction, but the vegetation became so thick that he couldn't do that anymore and we had to make our way through the forest-turned-jungle on foot.

I became jumpy. I kept seeing shadows following us, but when I turned, the shadows disappeared. I shuddered in fear when I heard the light footsteps and whirled around whenever I heard a crunch. Spyro just told me it was a wild animal or our own footsteps, but it _wasn't._

"There it is again!" I exclaimed, whipping around.

"Crystal, what did I tell you? It's your imagination. Just calm down and—" Spyro was interrupted as an ice shard whizzed past his face, barely missing him.

Spyro and I exchanged glances. "RUN!" we shouted together, before taking off in a sprint.

Heart pounding, I dashed through the forest. The canopy blocked out the sun and with every turn, I either ran into a tree or tripped over a root. At one point, I realized that Spyro wasn't there anymore, but I didn't have time to stop. On and on I ran until I fell head-over-heels and rolled down a hill. I was on my feet in a second, though I was dizzy.

I had landed in a clearing. The grasses waved slowly in the wind. On all sides of the clearing was the endless forest, and above me the moons were beginning to set. To my relief, Spyro was on the other side of the clearing, unharmed.

But then, to my horror, Kori came bursting out of the forest. He looked very different than he had all those years ago. His light-coloured scales had dimmed to a blue-grey, and his eyes glittered with madness. He laughed maniacally as he ran down the hill, making a beeline for the disoriented Spyro. He collected himself and hastily breathed a half-blast of earth that staggered Kori, who retaliated with a ball of convexity that Spyro dodged.

I cleared the field in a few seconds and breathed an arc of electricity that missed Kori by a mile. Growling in frustration, I backed up and aimed. With a _whoosh, _an ice shard shot towards Kori and never even came near him, much to my shock. I may not have had practice, but... I _never _missed, not with ice.

My anger only increased as I continued to miss at range and was unable to get close to him. Though he was focusing on Spyro, whenever I came near, he spun around and breathed ice or convexity. I managed to land a few hits, but they were far from life-threatening. I had lost my touch; the years of lethargy had caused my skill to diminish.

Finally, I managed to get a good attack in. A blast of fire hit Kori and left his side blackened. He cried out as some of his scales peeled off, leaving discoloured splotches and blisters all over him. Rage flashed over his features, and he whipped around. I didn't know he had breathed in until a blast of convexity hit me head-on, sending me flying.

I groaned in pain and lay there. I couldn't even move; I was in so much pain. That was so _powerful_. Convexity... the very essence of power, and I just got hit with it full force. Spyro and I hadn't been trained to use it, too, but Kori...

I groaned again and tried to pull myself into a sitting position, but dropped back down. Convexity, thankfully, wasn't as corrosive as poison, but it hurt so much more... it incapacitated the wielder's victims and left them helpless to fight.

So the battle raged on between Kori and Spyro, but it was doomed from the start. Kori peppered Spyro with blasts of convexity and ice, and Spyro couldn't get close enough to inflict any real damage. He went down next. As strong as he was, that didn't help him dodge the quick-firing convexity breath. He was practically crippled then, unable to move, unable to fight back...

To my horror, Kori was already standing over Spyro. I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the wave of searing pain that shot through my body.

"No!" I cried as Kori drew in his breath, charging a blast of convexity that would surely destroy whoever it hit.

I charged forward, but I knew I wasn't fast enough to get there in time. The burst of convexity had thrown me almost all the way to the end of the field. I would never be able to get to Kori before it was too late.

I could hear my heart pounding and my feet hitting the ground, see Kori as he was finishing his attack, but I felt numb all over. I was so frightened that I wasn't.

_There is a power inside you, a power that has been dormant for a long time. You previously depleted this ability, but now, at least for the moment, you shall have it back. _The voice that suddenly invaded my head was familiar, so fleetingly familiar... but I couldn't quite figure out who it was.

Before I even knew what was happening, my vision suddenly tinted blue and the world slowed. The sides of my eyes pulsed and I felt something, the long-dead power the strange voice spoke of. I continued running forward, slowly coasting through the air like water. I was just a little bit faster than the pace the world was moving at, but I was fast enough.

I pushed myself off the ground once I was close to Kori, into a flying leap. I sailed over the grass, and halfway through my jump, the world returned to its normal speed. I collided into Kori, knocking him off his feet. We both rolled over the ground and I came out on top of him. I raised a paw to slash his throat open, but I hesitated.

Kori took advantage of this. He shoved me off of him. I hit the ground and a blast of icy cold flew above me. I was on my feet in a second, and my own blast of ice retaliated.

I felt considerably drained now, after all the fighting and all the damage I had taken. Kori seemed to be hurt as well, but not injured enough to be unable to dash forward and slash three long cuts in my side. I cried out. The wounds were deep and long, and they _hurt._

With a growl of anger, I opened my mouth and a convexity attack. I was going to end this, once and for all! I saw that Kori was doing the same thing as I was and went into a fighting stance, an action he mirrored.

"Do you know what you did to me?" I managed to hiss through the growing ball of convexity. Blood, streams and trickles from the slashes we had received, stained the grass around us red. "What you took away?"

Kori laughed and the glow of his beam became a little less brighter. Tiny purple particles swirled around us and collided with the charging convexity, adding to the power.

"My family?" I asked. I glanced at Spyro, who was still on the ground. He was severely wounded as well. He stared at us with dead eyes and didn't move, hardly breathed.

"My friends?" Brighter...

"My childhood?" Brighter...

"My _life? !" _I could hardly see Kori now. He was no more than a dark figure in the white-purple light that covered much of my vision.

We both released our charged breaths at the same time. The beams shot towards each other with astounding speed. Everything I had was in that beam.

I couldn't help but think how stupid I was. I was likely going to kill myself as well as Kori. But then again, it didn't matter anymore. I had nothing left to lose. It had all been taken away.

The beams met in the middle. The light became brighter and brighter until it blinded me, but I stood my ground. I never knew there had been an explosion until I realized I was flying through the air and skidded in the dirt. I felt pain wrap itself around me, but just as suddenly as it had come, it slipped away. In fact, I slipped away too. As quietly as I had come into existence, I faded from it.


	7. Epilogue

I was flying.

Around me were flashing, swirling colours that faded, blended, only to come back. I was a part of the colour, in the middle of the tunnel they made, and I felt nothing. It was like I was dreaming, but the surreal feeling wasn't there. There was no twinge of consciousness, no limbs to move, nothing to breathe with. There was only the colours, and somehow knowing that I was travelling upwards, to elsewhere.

I somehow knew that there was a destination, and I had to get there. So upwards I rushed, and like galloping horses, the colour-tunnel dashed before me. It was like a race, and with every second I passed the other contestants. The tunnel's end came in sight, a bright, white light. And every m, the bits and pieces left of me began to fade away.

"No!" I suddenly shouted. My voice reverberated off the walls, melted, and became a part of the colour.

I felt that I could not continue going towards that light. I felt, period. I knew I must turn around.

I began to fall, but the gravity reversed. I had to push forward to continue moving. And it was a race again, but this race was deadly. The white light was tugging on me. I wanted to become a part of the colour, but even more than that, I wanted to get away. Faster, faster, I went, until I could see the end approaching. I could see my limp body at the end of the tunnel.

My colours began to take form as I neared the end of the tunnel. I could feel my arms now, and I reached one out. My wings, still made out of light, beat the... no, there wasn't air here. They beat the space. I stretched out my arm as far as it could go, and as I did, a bright, purple light filled my vision. I yelled out and pushed myself forward.

I gasped for air in the manner of a person who had been underwater for a long time. My body tingled painfully, but I could _feel_ it. I jumped to my feet and stumbled, but managed to stay upright. My labored breathing began to slow.

"You're alive!" I turned to see Spyro, staring at me in shock. "That's not possible..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I shivered... I was cold. And my pounding head only made it worse.

"You weren't breathing," Spyro replied.

"You mean I had...? So that's what that was."

"What?"

"I don't know. That convexity blast... the shock must have been too much. I was dying, and I felt like I had become colour itself. I was flying inside this tunnel, going somewhere but I don't know where, but I managed to turn around and get back here." I was speaking so fast that I could hardly keep up with myself. I stopped for breath and saw Spyro was staring at me.

"Just... never mind. I'm alive. That's all that matters." I sighed with relief. "But what about Kori?"

Spyro shook his head and motioned to the side. I saw Kori there. He lay still in the grass. I walked over to him an touched his chest, but there was no beat.

He looked somehow... peaceful. Eyes closed, he seemed as if he were only asleep, except for the lack of breathing. I stepped away from him.

"The world's a better place without him," I murmured contemplatively. "Even in death, may the ancestors look after you." I turned away and plodded back over to Spyro, who took off into the air.

He circled around the clearing for a few minutes, then flew off to the north. A few minutes later, he came back and landed beside me.

"Warfang's just to the north of here. Come on, if we're quick, we'll be there before dawn," Spyro informed me.

So, after recovering the journal that had thankfully been out of range of the convexity blast, back into the forest we went. After about an hour of walking, the trees began to thin and spread out. I looked to the west and saw that the moons had sank behind the trees, with only a little bit at the top sticking out over the forest. To the east, the sky was light grey and I could see the clouds outlining it. In front of us, Warfang was near.

"What are we going to do once we get there?" I asked, disturbing the silence.

"Let's just see if we can slip in and get to the council house unnoticed. If we can keep the members quiet, we may be able to get our point out and have you a second trial without attracting any attention to yourself," Spyro replied.

I glanced at the journal that I held in one paw. "If that's your plan, we can't get through the gates and I obviously can't fly. What am I supposed to do, climb over the wall?"

Spyro's eyes twinkled, but he said nothing. I stopped in my tracks and stared at him.

~~...~~

Spyro landed carefully, touching down perfectly on the grass. With a cry and a flailing of limbs I landed on the group near him with a thump. Luckily, Spyro had taken the journal from me.

"Not funny," I muttered irately, ignoring Spyro's suppressed laugh. I stood up, brushed myself off, and walked forward.

"Let's just hurry up," I said, glancing back at Spyro, "before the guards—" I turned back and found myself staring at the tip of the blade. "Find... us."

"Halt!" the owner of the blade, a mole, said.

"Wait, wait, I can explain! We have evidence that proves her innocence. We just need a second trial," Spyro protested, walking forward.

The mole glanced at Spyro, but didn't drop his stance. "Even if this is the case, she still needs to be interned at the courthouse until that trial. But that's impossible. Just follow me, you—no sudden moves."

I stood stock still, afraid of what would happen if I even breathed. I glanced at Spyro, who gazed back at me helplessly. I took a few cautious steps forward and followed the mole.

"Spyro, I _cannot_ be put in another cell," I said, shuddering at just the idea.

"Don't worry. It won't be for long. I'm going to get you out of this," Spyro replied.

Once we reached the main part of the city, three other guards surrounded me. People stopped what they were doing and stared incredulously at me as I walked by, head bowed.

"Is that really..."

"The one who killed all those people..."

"Escaped the prison yesterday..."

I could hear the whispers. Finally, unable to take it anymore, I swept the people gawking at me a scornful look and they were silent.

After a few minutes of walking, we came to the courthouse. It was just as I remembered. The walls were a bit more worn, but it was still only one story high, made out of the same stone, with the same large doors and the same tall staircase.

The crowd behind me dispersed as the guards, Spyro, and I ascended the stairs. The doors opened and I was led through the courtroom and into the back area, where the cells were. After I was placed inside the cell and the door locked, the guards left.  
>"This isn't as bad... as Barrin's Keep. But I don't know... how long I can stand this." I had to take deep breaths to keep from completely losing it. After all those years of being in a cell, and finally having a taste of freedom...<p>

"Don't worry. I'll get you out of there," Spyro promised. "Just give me some time. I'm sorry, that was stupid of me, bringing you here... I should have just gone myself, but I was afraid to leave you alone."

"It's alright. Just, please hurry..." With that, I backed into the wall. Spyro turned and left.

~~...~~

"Wake up! Time to go!" I cracked open one eye and saw two dragons standing before me, guards judging by the armour they wore.

"Where?" I asked, standing up and stretching. I was unable to tell how long I had been in the cell, but it had definitely been more than three days.

"Outside," the one who had spoken before, an earth dragon, said. The side of his armour gleamed and flickered in the torchlight. He pulled the door open and I reluctantly stepped forward.

"To the trial?" I asked as we made our way through the hall and past the cells.

"Something like that. We know as much as you do," the dragon behind me answered. She was female and sounded young.

I stepped forward quickly. I thought, Weren't the trials supposed to be held inside? As the double-doors swung open, I shielded my eyes with a wing until I could adjust to the bright sunlight. When they did, I was amazed at what I saw.

Before me was the whole of Warfang's population. Hundreds, thousands of individuals in a clamoring crowd, all shoving to try and get to the front, and all being pushed back by guards. They stood around a large stone dais, and on the dais were ten dragons. Two were guards, and one was Spyro.

The guards led me to the crowd, and both fell back to either side of me. The crowd cleared out of the way and stared at me as I passed. I stared back, and a few shrunk into the crowd. Some gazes hardened into a glare, some were neutral, and others stared at me with big, frightened eyes. I was confused, afraid. What was happening?

I stepped up onto the dais and the crowd melted back into the hole it had made. The guards followed it. I stared at Spyro, hoping he would say something, but he didn't. I glanced at the crowd, then forward again. Before me were seven dragons in an ordered group.

One of the seven dragons before me cleared his throat. "Attention," he said. A wave of silence instantly swept over the crowd. The dragon paused before continuing. "This court will now come to order. Today we will be re-reviewing the case involving Crystal and the massacre at Altonfield. Crystal, how do you plead?"

I glanced at Spyro. He gave me a reassuring look. "Not guilty," I said firmly.

"Good. Because the court had already reached a verdict," one of the jurors said.

"Wha—?" I asked, but I was interrupted.

"We have gone over the evidence prior to this meeting. This is the diary of Kori, the late prosecutor." The dragon who had spoken held up Kori's journal. "I will read it aloud for the benefit of all in attendance."

And so he did. As everybody listened, the only sound was the occasional drawing in of breath. Kori, apparently, had been found in the wilderness at a young age. For many months, Malefor had tried unsuccessfully to give Kori many elements and turn him. Finally, Malefor cast him aside, but kept him around to do small things rather than killing him. The story continued on for a while, becoming increasingly unintelligible, until it reached the part Spyro and I had read. The juror read this part very slowly, enunciating every syllable. And then that was the end.

The dragon took a breath. "The handwriting in this book matches previous samples of Kori's writing. In addition to this evidence, we have been given a confession by one of the mentioned suspects, Whirlwind."

One of the dragons, a female shadow dragon, stepped out of line. She turned towards me. My heart rate sped up and something welled up inside me.

"Crystal," the dragon said, "we hereby pardon you of all crimes imposed thus far." She looked around at the crowd before stepping back with the other jurors. "Court is adjourned."

My face had changed emotions many times while she was speaking. First it was neutral, then it turned to amazement, and now joy was creeping up onto it. Free... I was finally, finally free.

The crowd began to disperse. The guards and the jurors left. But still I stood there, awestruck and dumbfounded.

"I can't believe it," I said to Spyro, who stood patiently near me. "I can't believe it. I'm free." I laughed.

"What are you going to do now?" Spyro asked, smiling too.

"That is the question," I agreed. I thought for a moment, and I realized, exactly, what I was going to do now. "There might be one thing..."

~~...~~

I paced back and forth outside of the courthouse. The guards who were guarding the doors gave me irritated glares, but I ignored them. Finally, I settled for sitting against the wall.

_Calm down. Everything will be alright, _I thought. I sighed and drummed my claws on the concrete and shifted my weight. I just couldn't sit still.

"Would you calm down? You're driving me crazy." I shot a glare at Sparx.

"You're one to talk! You've been flying around in circles for the past two hours," I said flatly.

"Knock it off, you two," Spyro said absentmindedly. "It has to be nearly over."

The doors suddenly opened. I looked up expectantly and breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did it go?" I asked. There was a long pause. My heart sank.

"They said forty years was a long enough sentence."

"So you mean...?"

"I'm free."

"Oh, Jay!" I sprang to my feet and just about knocked him over with a hug. Jayred grinned and I beamed back.

"Well, there, now that's off my checklist," I joked. Jayred chuckled and walked down the stairs. Everybody followed him as he headed down to the streets. "So now what?" I asked.

"I don't know. I have to think about it," Jayred said. "I have to start over."

"I know the feeling. Ugh, was I really in that prison for twenty-four years?" I shook my head to clear it. "Well, it doesn't matter. Kori is gone, forever."

We were all standing on a hill now. I looked down at the city, at the buildings beginning to dim in the twilight. I sighed contently. It was all over. I was free, but at a great cost. My childhood had been snatched away from me. I would never fly again. The world had changed around me and I could never catch up.

But these troubles all paled in comparison to the joy I now felt. Jayred was free. I had been reunited with Spyro and Sparx, my brothers. I would never have to so much as look at a cell again, for I had freedom. And somewhere out there, friends and family were waiting for me to return home.

I looked around. Jayred, who had been my comfort, a light in the darkness, was looking at me. I smiled and he smiled back. Sparx was looking up at the sky. He had never doubted me for a second, and that meant more than the world. Spyro was gazing up to the sky as well. Even after I had pushed him away, he still kept coming back. He never left me behind no matter what happened, and he set me free from the torment.

I gazed up at the darkening sky. Stars began to dot it, twinkling with all their might. I knew it wasn't true, but I somehow felt that they were shining just for me. The night breeze began to set in. I closed my eyes as it brushed my face. Suddenly, for no reason except being unable to contain my happiness any longer, I laughed.

"We did it," I whispered. "We did it." The wind carried my words away. Even after they had faded, they continued on, dancing forever across the world.

And everything started to fall back into place.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**That's all of it. I'm hoping this will be the last Crystal spin-off. Even though they are fun to write, I'm kind of giving her Barbie Doll Syndrome here by throwing every plot I come across her way. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed And Everything Started to Fall. Seeya soon! :D**


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